St. William of York Catholic Church has stood on Richmond Highway in Stafford, Virginia since 1956, serving as a spiritual home for generations of Catholic families in the rolling country north of Potomac Creek, roughly thirty-five miles south of the nation's capital. The parish marked its seventieth anniversary with a Mass of Thanksgiving and Eucharistic Procession that was broadcast on EWTN, a milestone that drew together more than five thousand registered parishioners and a vibrant parish school. Today, St. William of York is a family-oriented parish loyal to the teachings of the Catholic Church, in communion with Pope Leo XIV and Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington.
From Aquia Harbor Settlers to a 5,100-Family Parish
Although St. William of York was established as an independent parish in 1971, the Catholic roots in Stafford go back more than three centuries. The first Catholic families in Virginia settled around Aquia Harbor, just north of the present church building, around 1650. By the end of the seventeenth century, the Brents, the leading Catholic family of colonial Virginia, farmed several thousand acres in the area and are buried in a cemetery now owned by the Diocese of Arlington not far from the parish. The Catholic community stayed small for generations; as late as 1925 priests from Fredericksburg celebrated Mass in the homes of private families because the area was too small to maintain a regular church.
The first Catholic church building in Stafford County came in 1943, when St. Therese Mission Church at Midway Island, near Quantico, was established mainly to serve military personnel during World War II. Bishop Ireton dedicated the present St. William of York building on May 6, 1956, although it remained a mission of St. Mary's in Fredericksburg. When it finally became its own parish in 1971, only twenty-five families were registered. By the 1980s that number had climbed to about six hundred. The arrival of three Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Infant Jesus in July 1998, who joined both the school and the religious education program, helped the parish grow into the community of more than 5,100 parishioners it is today.
Mass Times, Including a Spanish-Language Celebration
Sunday Mass at St. William of York is offered at 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 10:45 AM, and 12:30 PM in Spanish. Weekday Masses follow a steady rhythm: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday each have Masses at 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, and 5:30 PM; Wednesday offers Masses at 9:00 AM and 5:30 PM; and Saturday begins with a 9:00 AM daily Mass before the 5:00 PM Vigil Mass.
Confession, Adoration, and the Eucharist
The Sacrament of Penance (also called Confession or Reconciliation) is offered Wednesday mornings from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 PM, and on Friday and Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 10:30 AM. In this sacrament the faithful are absolved from sins committed after baptism and reconciled with the Christian community; mortal sins must be confessed while venial sins may be confessed for devotional reasons, and only those ordained as priests may grant absolution.
Eucharistic Adoration takes place between the morning daily Masses on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On First Fridays, adoration begins after the 9:00 AM Mass and continues until 9:00 PM. The parish teaches that Jesus is substantially present, body, blood, soul, and divinity, in Holy Communion, often called the Real Presence. After the consecration, the substance of bread and wine changes into the body and blood of Christ while the accidents, color, taste, shape, and other observable features, remain unchanged.
Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, and Anointing
Baptism is the first sacrament of initiation, and St. William of York holds baptisms for infants and young children through age seven on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month at 3:30 PM. Parents must be registered parishioners for at least three months before setting a date, attend a Baptism Preparation Class, and submit sponsor forms along with a copy of the child's birth certificate. The English preparation class meets on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM, and the Spanish class meets on the second Friday at 7:00 PM. Children above age seven participate in the Children's Catechumenate, a two-year program that culminates at the Easter Vigil; adults enter the parish through OCIA.
Confirmation is received in eighth grade after an eight-year Religious Education program. In seventh grade, students must pass a Basic Faith Test, prepare a report on a saint of their choice, complete fifteen hours of service to the community, and choose a sponsor who is a confirmed Catholic in good standing, at least sixteen years old, and (if married) in a valid Catholic marriage. Regular Sunday and Holy Day Mass attendance is required and monitored.
Couples wishing to marry at the parish should allow a minimum of six months of preparation and contact the parish office. Anointing of the Sick is available for parishioners who are ill, injured, suffering, or elderly, and may be received more than once. In non-emergency situations, families call the parish office during business hours; after hours they leave a message for the duty priest. In hospital emergencies, the chaplain can reach a priest through the Pastoral Care Team.
Becoming Catholic: The Way (OCIA)
The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, also known as OCIA and still fondly called "The Way" by the parish, is for the unbaptized, those baptized in another Christian tradition who want to become Catholic, and baptized Catholics seeking First Communion and/or Confirmation. Rather than a fixed program, it is a process, a year-round journey that may begin at any time and follows five periods: Inquiry and Evangelization, Catechumenate, Purification and Enlightenment, the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, traditionally at the Easter Vigil), and Mystagogy. OCIA classes meet on Wednesday evenings at 6:15 PM in the Parish Center, and class study guides are available in both English and Spanish. Each inquirer shares the journey with a Catholic sponsor at least sixteen years old who is actively practicing the faith; sponsors cannot be parents. Kristy Lumley, the Director of Religious Education and OCIA, welcomes inquiries at OCIA@swoycc.org.
Religious Education and SPRED
The parish Religious Education program serves children in kindergarten through Confirmation Year 2. Sundays from 8:45 to 10:00 AM and from 10:45 AM to noon gather students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Confirmation Year 1 (seventh through eleventh grade) and Confirmation Year 2 (eighth through twelfth grade) meet Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. First Communion preparation (fourth through eleventh grade) meets Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. The office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
SPRED (Special Religious Development) offers faith formation for people with intellectual developmental disabilities. Families interested in the program can contact Kristy Lumley at klumley@swoycc.org to sign up.
St. William of York Catholic School
The parish school, which began in 1992 and today enrolls more than two hundred students, serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The school was started because so many of the growing families in the 1980s and 1990s had young children. The school office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Principal Jennifer Schiller can be reached at jschiller@stwillschool.org.
High School Youth Ministry
All high school students in grades nine through twelve are invited into the Youth Ministry program, which aims to meet teens wherever they are in their Catholic journey and give them the tools to know, love, and serve God for the rest of their lives. Monthly Triple D events (Dodgeball, Dessert and Discussion) bring teens together on Sunday afternoons for a friendly game, a sweet treat, and a frank conversation about faith. Living Stations is a moving dramatization of the Passion performed by the teens for the parish. Tuesday Time with Father gathers young men around a bonfire rosary for fellowship and formation, while Young Adult Tea Time invites high school ladies to high tea with special guests who range from local authors to seasoned parishioners. WorkCamp, a week-long diocesan service trip, brings the youth out into the wider community. Football Friends, Mass and Movie Nights, Game Nights, and specialty outings round out the calendar. The youth also compete with neighboring parishes in the annual Deanery 7 Photo Scavenger Hunt at the local mall for the Christmas Cup. Erica Abagnale serves as Youth and Young Adult Ministry Coordinator.
Outreach to the Stafford Community
St. William of York Outreach is a separate non-profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers that provides emergency financial assistance and food to families in Stafford County. The Outreach Thrift Store generates the funds that make this work possible. Profits from thrift store sales and donations are directed back into the local community for those in greatest need. Michelle McSorley, the parish Media and Outreach Coordinator, helps organize efforts that complement the Outreach ministry, including family-friendly Bingo for Babies events that bring the parish together to support local mothers and babies.
The Knights of Columbus and the Legion of Mary
Father Widmer Council #7877 of the Knights of Columbus has supported St. William of York since 1982, more than four decades of service by Catholic men dedicated to being better husbands, fathers, sons, neighbors, and parishioners. The council carries out the Knights' Faith in Action model through four pillars: Faith (rosaries, Holy Hours, retreats), Family (parish breakfasts, dinners, youth activities), Community (food drives, charity fundraisers, service projects), and Life (pro-life advocacy and respect-life ministries). The council meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Council Home, opening with the Rosary. Practicing Catholic men aged eighteen and older may join through the Knights of Columbus online membership portal.
The Legion of Mary, the largest apostolic organization of lay people in the Catholic Church, is represented at St. William of York by the Ancilla Domini Praesidium. Active members attend a weekly meeting and perform at least two hours of apostolic work with a partner under the guidance of the spiritual director, Father DeMartino. The Legion's works in the parish include new-parishioner visitation, visitation of the sick or aged, support for religious education, Sacred Heart Enthronement, Pilgrim Virgin Statue visits, and door-to-door evangelization. Auxiliary members support the active members in prayer.
Music, Flowers, Servers, Ushers, and Rosary Makers
The Adult Choir welcomes anyone who can carry a tune and wants to learn; no audition is required. Beyond singing at liturgies and parish celebrations, choir members share in retreats, pilgrimages, family barbecues, and karaoke nights. Flower Volunteers create and care for the altar and sanctuary arrangements. Altar Servers, registered parish boys in fourth through twelfth grade who have received First Holy Communion, assist the priests during Mass and other liturgical celebrations, carrying the cross, ringing the bells, holding the book, and presenting the gifts. Ushers, who must be at least eighteen, Catholic, and registered parishioners, greet worshippers, assist with seating, take up the Offertory, serve as Eucharistic Guards during Communion, and hand out bulletins. The Rosary Makers meet most Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to noon in the Brent Room, fashioning rosaries for First Communicants, Confirmation candidates, other parish ministries, and foreign missions, and they also repair rosaries on request.
Respect Life and Brain Train
The Respect Life ministry coordinates parish participation in the diocesan respect-life mission, including a Rosary for Life by the Grotto and the Life Chain. Michelle McSorley serves as the Respect Life Coordinator.
Brain Train, a fellowship for parishioners who enjoy games and snacks, meets in the Brent Room from 12:30 to 2:30 PM on the last Tuesday of each month for an afternoon of socializing and brain-exercising games.
STARCH Homeschool Group
St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Homeschool Group (STARCH) provides academic and social support for local Catholic homeschoolers through meet-ups, clubs, and community events. Families interested in joining can email starchhomeschool@gmail.com.
Becoming Part of the Parish
Visitors who would like to join the parish register with the parish office, where staff speak English and Spanish. Giving to St. William of York is available online through ParishSOFT (formerly Faith Direct) by electronic funds transfer or credit and debit card, and weekly envelopes are available at the front office. Online giving and the parish newsletter sign-up are available at swoycc.org.